The Holocron Thief
by Demonic Irken
Summary: Kanan discovers Ezra studying The Sith Holocron again and confiscates it. Ezra desperately attempts to reclaim it, with dire consequences. But when Maul captures Ezra, Kanan must set aside his anger and find his Padawan before it's too late. (Currently on hiatus until further notice.)
1. The Discovery

Ezra snuck off to his room. _I need to study the Sith holocron some more._ He thought excitedly. Entering his chambers, he was surprised to find that Kanan had already discovered it. After yelling at him and spanking Ezra, he left with the Holocron in hand. Ezra rolled his eyes. _Whatever, old man. I have like a gazillion more of those anyway._ He went over to his bed and looked under it. There were indeed many more Sith Holocrons under there. Taking one out, he began studying. Suddenly, Kanan re-entered his room. "Look, Ezra, I just wanted to say that I may have been-" he stopped speaking as he saw what Ezra was holding. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Didn't I take that from you?" He said slowly. Ezra tried to do a Mind Trick on his Master. "This is not a Sith Holocron. It is a hot dog." Kanan shook his head. "Doesn't work on me. Pretty sure I remember taking that from you." Ezra hid the Holocron behind his back. "No you don't?" He said guiltily. Kanan narrowed his eyes again. He went over to Ezra's bed and looked under it. "Ezra! What is this?!" He yelled, pulling out Holocron after Holocron. After the last one had been found, Kanan counted how many there were. 15 minutes later, he stopped counting. He looked at Ezra angrily "WHY do you have 130 Sith Holocrons under your bed?!" Ezra looked at the ground. "Because I NEEEEED them!" He whined. "You don't need 130 Sith Holocrons." "Yes I DOOOOOO!" Kanan pinched his nose. "I'm taking them all." He decided. Ezra's eyes widened. "No! NOOOO!" He yelled grabbing Kanan's leg as he tried to walk out with all the Holocrons. He dragged Ezra across the ground. "Ezra, get off of my leg!" Kanan demanded. "Are you gonna give the Holocrons back?" Ezra asked hopefully. "No, Ezra." Said Kanan sternly. Ezra sobbed louder. Kanan covered his ears. Kanan shook him off and left the room. Hiding them in his desert, he shook his head. Sometimes being a Jedi was so complicated.


	2. Desperation

Ezra burst into Kanan's personal chambers, startling the Jedi Master. "Ezra, I was meditating!" Kanan yelled, annoyed. Ezra glared at his Master angrily. "Where are the Sith Holocrons that you took from me?" He demanded. Kanan sighed. "Ezra, we've discussed this already. Your not getting them back. EVER!" Ezra pouted. "Fine! I'll just go and eat those cakes that are in the ship's fridge!" Ezra went to do just that. Kanan continued meditating. A few minutes later, Ezra returned. "Why are the Sith Holocrons BAKED INTO the cake?!" "Ezra, we are NOT doing this again!" "Tell me!" Ezra demanded. "That was the best thing I could think of, OK? I'm destroying those Holocrons tomorrow! That is final!" Ezra gasped. "You CAN'T destroy them! I need them!" "Well, too bad! Zeb is taking them to a smelting pit as we speak. There's nothing you can do to prevent that! And if you try, I WILL stop you!" Warned Kanan. _We'll see about THAT_ thought Ezra. He had to think of a plan to keep those Holocrons from being melted. He HAD to.


	3. The Plan

Despite Kanan's warning not to try stopping Zeb from destroying the Holocrons, Ezra managed to locate Zeb right before he was about to melt them down. "Zeb! Stop!" Ezra yelled, getting his attention for a brief moment. "What is it, Ezra?" He asked gruffly. "You can't destroy those! I need them to destroy the Sith!" Ezra tried desperately. Zeb chuckled. "Kid, these won't help you destroy the Sith. They turn you INTO one. Every one of us would be better off without these in our lives." Ezra had to think fast. "But… I can control it! I WONT fall to the Dark Side. I would use the knowledge for good, not evil! I WON'T become like Maul." Zeb wasn't easily convinced. "Yeah, well, even if you didn't, I'm still not gonna take that chance." As Zeb was about to toss the Holocrons into the pit, Ezra desperately used a Jedi Mind Trick on the alien. "You don't want to destroy all of the Holocrons. You want to give half of them back to me." Zeb repeated this. Ezra kept at it. "You will tell Kanan they have all been destroyed." Zeb contacted Kanan and repeated Ezra's words to him. After he had ended the call, Ezra decided to make Zeb forget this ever happened. "You will not remember this." "I will not remember this." Repeated Zeb. Satisfied, Ezra released him from the Mind Trick. Ezra quickly hid the Holocrons in his possession, while Zeb regained his bearings. "What happened? How did you get here?" He asked Ezra. The Jedi Apprentice thought fast again. "Oh, uh, Kanan dropped me off here to tell you to make sure you get every one of those evil things!" Zeb looked at him strangely. "Okay. Anything else?" "Nope! That's all!" Said Ezra, forcing a laugh. "Okay." Said Zeb again. After Zeb had finished checking to see if the job was done, he took Ezra back to _The Ghost._ Kanan was proud that Ezra had finally understood the danger of the Sith Holocrons, or so he thought. He decided to give his Apprentice a Jedi Holocron to use instead, hoping that it would help Ezra in his studies of the Jedi of Old. Boy, was he wrong.


	4. Maul Returns

A few days later, Ezra was still secretly studying the Sith Holocrons that he got from Zeb. Currently, he was pretending to listen to Kanan blab about the Jedi. "And THEN, Shaak Ti said…" Ezra tuned Kanan out. He'd heard this story before from the others. He REALLY did not want to hear it again. "Kanan, I have to study the Jedi Holocron you gave me." Kanan stopped blabbing. "Alright, Ezra. Go ahead." Ezra jumped up and almost ran to his quarters. He entered, but almost shouted in shock when he realized the Holocron was not where he left it. "Looking for this?" said a voice behind him.

Ezra froze. He knew that voice. It was… He turned around. Maul was standing there, holding both the Jedi Holocron and one of the Sith Holocron . Ezra gasped. "Maul! But, how did you get on the ship without the others knowing?" Maul chucked darkly. "I have my ways." He said mysteriously. Ezra thought about yelling for the others, but Maul sensed this. "Don't bother having your friends save you. They won't get here in time." Ezra tried not to be nervous or afraid. "What do you want?" Maul shook his head. "Ezra, Ezra." He chided, "You should know by now what I intend to do with these." Maul held up a few of the Sith holocrons. "Does your Master know you still have these? It would be a shame if I had to tell him myself. You have such potential. Such power. I could use that."

"For the last time, I am NOT your apprentice!" Said Ezra. Maul smiled, "Not yet, anyway. But you will be. I sense it." Ezra was starting to get annoyed. "You just don't get it, do you?! I will NEVER be your apprentice! EVER!" Maul thought a moment "I see." He said after a few seconds of thought. "Ezra, I wish to show you something. Come with me." He started pulling Ezra toward his ship, which was attracted to The Ghost.

Ezra pulled free of Maul's grasp. Rubbing his arm, he grunted in frustration. What will it take to get through to him? He thought. Maul was also getting frustrated. "Very well. If you will not accompany me willingly, then I guess I have no choice." Said Maul, using the Force to make Ezra unconscious. Carrying Ezra to his ship, they entered, Maul setting Ezra on one of the couches inside if it. Powering up the ship, he detached from The Ghost and flew to his destination.

A/N/: I've been thinking about putting Maul in this story for a while, since he is one of my favorite characters. What do you think of Maul being in this fanfic?


	5. Finding Ezra

A few hours later, Kanan noticed Ezra had been quieter than usual. The others had noticed it, too. "Where's Ezra?" Sabine asked, concerned. "In his quarters, studying the Jedi Holocron I gave him." Kanan replied, not worried in the slightest. "I'm gonna go check on him." Replied Hera. She walked to Ezra's room and looked inside. "Kanan? Ezra's not here!"

Kanan jumped up. "Not here? What do you mean he's not here?" He joined Hera in Ezra's quarters. "I mean he's gone, Kanan!" Kanan began searching for his apprentice. "EZRA?" He shouted. The other members of The Ghost followed his lead. A few minutes later, Zeb spoke up. "It's hopeless." He said, throwing his arms up in the air. "We've checked the entire ship twice. If he was here, we would have found him by now." Hera sighed. "Zeb's right. He is most definitely not on the ship."

Kanan rubbed his eyes, trying not to let his worry and fear for Ezra show. "Look, he can't have gone far. He has to be on one of the nearby planets. We could start there." "Or we could check the ship's security cams. They might tell us what happened to Ezra." Sabine suggested. Kanan nodded. "That's a good plan. I was just gonna suggest that." Sabine rolled her eyes. "SURE you were." She said sarcastically.

Zeb grunted. "Whatever. I'm gonna get something to drink." He headed toward the fridge, Sabine following behind him. "WHY is there a moldy cake in here?" Shouted Sabine. Kanan chuckled nervously. "Oh, that. Yeah, That's were I was hiding the Sith holocrons that Zeb melted." Hera shook her head. Kanan could be a total goofball at times.

Hera decided to return to Ezra's quarters to look for any clues that they may have missed. Opening one of the drawers under Ezra's bed, she gasped. She had found the other Sith Holocrons. She brought them to Kanan. "These were hidden in a drawer under Ezra's bed." She said, handing them to Kanan. The Jedi Master attempted to contain his anger at Ezra.

He turned to Zeb. "I thought you destroyed all of these." Zeb looked at the Holocrons, confused. "I thought I did. Ezra was with me at the time, though." Kanan thought a moment. Finally, it all made sense. "Zeb, Ezra probably used a Jedi Mind Trick on you. Do you remember anything?" Zeb shook his head. "Not a thing. He probably made me forget the exchange." He growled. "When we find that kid, I am gonna give him so many chores."

Kanan put a hand on Zeb's shoulder. "We'll worry about that later. Right now, we need to check the cams for clues." They all went to the security room and checked the recordings of earlier that day. Everything seemed normal at first, Ezra entering his room and picking up the Jedi Holocron, but then the crew all gasped in surprise and fear when they saw Maul approaching the kid.

Kanan grew even more worried. "I should have known that Maul had something to do with Ezra's disappearance!" Hera offered a reassuring smile to Kanan. "You couldn't have known, Kanan." She said soothingly. Sabine grunted angrily. "When I get my hands on that tattooed freak, he's gonna wish he was never born!" She said, making a fist.

The others all nodded in agreement. They had some hunting to do. They headed for the nearest planet, determined to find their friend, as quickly as possible.


	6. The Battle

Obi-Wan sat outside his hut on Tatooine, enjoying the weather. The planets twin suns were beginning to set, and the temperature was beginning to drop slightly. Obi-Wan enjoyed this time of day. It was very relaxing, and the sunsets were a sight to behold. The former Jedi sighed, content for the moment.

Suddenly, his senses enhanced by the Force, he heard the sound of a ship's engines. He glanced up to see the ship touch down a few feet from his residence. He stood and prepared to either greet the visitors, or prepare for a fight. He waited patiently as the ships ramp lowered, and a cloaked, hooded figure strode out onto the sand, and began to walk towards him.

Obi-Wan started to approach the being, but when he saw its face, he froze. The humanoids face was completely covered in red and black markings, as were its hands, and (he assumed) the rest of its body. They looked familiar. Obi-Wan began to have flashbacks of his fight with a certain Sith on Naboo many years ago, the death of his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, and the defeat of his killer moments later.

No, it couldn't be him. He thought in disbelief. But then, as the alien drew nearer, he saw its eyes. They were yellow, with a dash of red. Obi-Wan found them striking, and strangely hypnotic at the same time. The intruder pulled back his hood, revealing horns atop its head. He began running towards the Jedi now, pulling something from his cloak and activating it. It was a lightsaber, double-bladed. Blood red.

"Kenobi. I have found you at last." The former Sith released a blood-curdling scream of pure, animalistic rage that chilled Obi-Wan to the bone, and viciously attacked his target. The Jedi barely had time to ignite his own weapon before he was fighting for his life. Maul swung his saber again and again, managing to score a few slashes to his enemy's cloak.

Obi-Wan blocked Maul's strikes and delivered a few of his own, all the while attempting to come up with an explanation to all of this. "You can't be alive. This must be a vision of some sort!" He decided, not being able to think of any other answer. He blocked another swing and kicked his opponent in the chest, sending him stumbling back a few steps.

Maul regained his balance and laughed, shaking his head. "You Jedi are all alike. Weak, and cowardly. You refuse to see what is directly in front of you. That is why your kind was slaughtered mercilessly, hunted like animals, and why your precious Temple now lies in ruins."

Obi-Wan shifted into a defensive stance. "As long as we live, the Order survives."

Maul growled, "Then it will not last much longer!" And attacked once more. Obi-Wan was beginning to become exhausted due to the power of the Zabrak's blows and his seemingly endless rage. He was caught off-guard when Maul head-butted him in the face, causing him to stumble and fall back onto the ground.

His tattooed foe held him down using both The Force and his body weight, slowly inching his lightsaber toward his face. Obi-Wan struggled briefly, but that only seemed to make his enemy angrier, and the pressure increased slightly. "You are beaten. It is useless to resist. Prepare to become one with the Force, Kenobi!" As he raised his lightsaber to strike, a voice called out, "No! Stop! I need him!" Distracted, Maul focused his attention on the owner of the voice. A boy ran up to them, putting himself between Obi-Wan and his soon-to-be killer.

The boy couldn't have been more than fifteen. Obi-Wan couldn't help but notice the unique lightsaber hilt that hung at his side. Maul attempted to wave the kid away. "Go back to the ship, Ezra! I'll be finished here soon." As he turned back to his prey, preparing to deliver the killing blow, his lightsaber suddenly flew out of his hands, surprising both Obi-Wan and Maul.

The weapon landed in Ezra's grasp. Maul seethed. "Ezra, return that to me this instant!" He demanded. "Not until you promise not to harm him!" Ezra pleaded desperately. Maul sighed, annoyed. "Ezra, I can't promise that. He has to pay for what he's done! I must have my revenge!" The young Jedi Apprentice deactivated the lightsaber. "We need him alive! The Holocrons said that he was the key to destroying the Sith!"

"FORGET THE SITH!" Maul shouted, losing his cool for a minute. "ALL THAT MATTERS RIGHT NOW IS KENOBI!" Taking a deep breath, he softened his tone and regained his composure. "Ezra, this is my destiny. I have no other choice. I'm doing this, with or without you!" Ezra ignited his lightsaber. "I won't let you kill him!" Maul reclaimed his own lightsaber and activated it. "I do not wish to hurt you, Ezra!"

"Well, you're going to have to! You're not killing him until you get through me!" Maul sighed. "If this is what it takes to get to Kenobi, so be it. But I must warn you, Ezra. You are not nearly as strong with the Force as I am. This will be over quickly." Ezra prepared himself. "We'll see." Maul swung…

A/N: Who's excited for the next Rebels episode? I'm super excited! I can't wait to see what who wins. Hopefully Maul survives. If he doesn't I will be extremely upset. Anyway, what did you think of this chapter? Did you like it? Let me know what you think.


	7. Temptations

Ezra blocked it with his blade and dodged another swing. Maul was attempting to convince him to join him once again. "Listen to me, Ezra! He has to be destroyed! He robbed me of my destiny! He abandoned me and left me for dead! You must understand!"

Ezra threw a punch, which Maul easily blocked with his free hand. "Stop this, Ezra! You won't win against me!" Ezra looked to Obi-Wan, who lay in a heap on the ground, unconscious, after Maul had Force Pushed him into his home. "Maybe not, but I have to try! If you kill Obi-Wan, we might never learn how to destroy the Sith! Isn't that what we both want?"

Maul nodded. "Yes, we both want the same thing, but we can achieve our goals without Kenobi! You have to trust me, Apprentice!" Ezra frowned. Why does he keep calling me that? "I've told you countless times, I am not your Apprentice!"

Maul sighed, trying to keep his frustration and anger under control. "Ezra, your Master is manipulating you! He is diminishing your potential, your power! I am only trying to help you grow stronger, to help you realize what you can achieve if you focus your hate and learn to exploit your allies for your own purposes!" Ezra shook his head, "You're lying. He's teaching me how to use my powers for good, unlike you!"

Maul chuckled. "Is that what he told you? Your friends don't really care for you, you're just a means to an end for them, nothing more! They don't know you, Ezra. Not like I do. They will never understand how powerful you are, how much promise you show! I can teach you so much more than that Jedi filth ever could!" The former Sith ranted.

Maul had disarmed Ezra now, pinning the young boy to the wall of Obi-Wan's hut with the Force. "Join me, and we will bring peace to the galaxy once more! We will overthrow Vader and the Emperor, and we shall rule the galaxy in their place!" Ezra tried to convince himself that Maul was trying to manipulate him, to use him.

But Ezra had to admit that Maul was right. Kanan and the others didn't understand him, not really. They probably never would. Maul released his hold on him, allowing Ezra to move again. Checking himself for any injuries he may have sustained during their brief duel, Ezra thought about what Maul had said. The offer was tempting, sure, but Ezra didn't want galactic conquest. He wanted to eliminate the Empire.

Doing this Maul's way would be causing chaos and death. "Power-hungry much?" Ezra asked rhetorically. Maul held his head in his hands, beginning to feel like he would never get through to him. "How can I make you understand? What must I do so that you will see things through my eyes?" Ezra turned to inspect Obi-Wan's home, not being able to come up with an answer to the Zabrak's question.

"I don't know." He replied. Maul was amused by this, much to Ezra's surprise. He decided to try a different approach. "Hm. Ezra, I understand that your parents were killed by the Empire recently." Ezra was taken aback by the statement. "How did you know that?"

"I probed your mind while you were unconscious on my ship earlier. I learned a lot about you. We have so much in common, you and I."

Ezra narrowed his eyes. "Oh yeah? Like what?"

"Well, both of our parents were killed by the Empire, my brother included. We both want the recognition we deserve but don't have, among other things. We are more alike than you know."

Ezra shook his head. "No, we may have some things in common with each other, but you are a monster, a killer. I'm not like you." Maul growled, "Others might disagree." Ezra scoffed. "Really? Who, your brother? I bet he was a psychopath, too!" Maul hit the kid across the face with such force that Ezra's head snapped back and he lost his balance, falling to the ground. "DO NOT SPEAK OF SAVAGE LIKE THAT!"

Ezra crawled away from him, frightened by this sudden outburst. Maul stood over him, his expression one of rage. "YOU DID NOT KNOW HIM! YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT KIND OF PERSON HE WAS!" He pulled back his arm to hit him again, but halted when he noticed the look of fear on Ezra's face.

Lowering his arm, he tried to calm himself. He held out a hand, Ezra hesitating for a moment before reluctantly taking it. Helping Ezra to his feet, he noticed that the kid looked as if he would start crying. Softening his tone, he apologized, but said in a threatening manner, "But know this: If you ever speak ill of my brother again, you will live to regret it. Am I clear on that?"

Ezra nodded. Maul smiled, satisfied with the answer. "Good. I hope we can move past this, and move on to bigger and better things, like Kenobi." Ezra gave no response, afraid Maul would lash out again. He noticed that Obi-Wan had regained consciousness. "You shouldn't treat your friends that way." The aging ex-Jedi remarked.

Maul turned to face his enemy. "SILENCE! Who are you to tell me how to behave? You took everything from me! I am nothing because of you!" Obi-Wan shrugged. "You still have your life. Be grateful for that." Maul pointed at him and snarled menacingly, "Yes, but you will not have yours for much longer, Kenobi!" Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber once more, Maul doing the same. "Walk away, Maul! I don't want to do this. You can still turn back. Don't force me to do this."

Maul tightened his grip on his lightsaber. "You don't have a choice, Kenobi! This will either end with your death, or mine, and I always survive, every time!"

Obi-Wan prepared himself to become one with the Force, if it came to it. "We'll just see about that, won't we?"

Ezra tried to think of a way to get them to avoid fighting to the death with each other, but his mind drew blanks. He couldn't think of anything. "Wait!" He shouted desperately. "What is it now, Ezra?!" Maul demanded, annoyed by the interruption. "Obi-Wan is right, you don't have to do this! You could just-"

"ENOUGH, Ezra! I will not retreat! I have worked too hard and lost too much to give up now! Kenobi and I will finish this, once and for all, here and now!" Ezra desperately searched his mind for a response. He had to keep Maul from killing his old foe.

As Maul focused his attention on Kenobi yet again, Ezra ran at Maul and tackled him, sending his weapon flying out of his hands. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, EZRA?! STOP THIS BEHAVIOR!" Maul screamed, infuriated. Ezra sat on his chest, refusing to listen to him. "No! I told you we need him alive! I will do everything in my power to keep him that way!"

Maul stared at him, the fury evident in his expression. "Then you give me no other choice. I'm sorry, Ezra." He used the Force to shove Ezra away from him and Obi-Wan, stunning him for the moment. He ignites his lightsaber and sighed irritability. "Now, where were we?" Then he charged Kenobi, resuming their duel.


End file.
